Fact of the day

Information is the most powerful weapon.

Monday

Fact N°
2014

Julius Caesar was once captured by pirates.

Years before his dictatorship, Caesar was sailing across the Aegean Sea when his ship was boarded by pirates. The pirates intended to ransom him for 20 talents of silver, at which Caesar laughed, commented that they didn't know whom they'd captured, and recommended they ask for 50. While the pirates waited for their ransom money, Caesar seemed entirely unconcerned with the situation and jovially remarked that he would have them all executed. Once free, Caesar raised a fleet, hunted the pirates down and had them crucified.

Tuesday

Fact N°
2015

A newborn's skeleton contains, on average, 94 more parts than that of an adult.

Babies' skeletons are not yet composed of actual bones, like those of adults, and instead consist of around 300 pieces of bone and cartilage. All bones begin as cartilage and ossify over time, developing and receiving nutrients, and eventually fusing into an adult skeleton (with a total of 206 bones).

Wednesday

Fact N°
2016

High caffeine intake increases the risk of hallucination.

A Durham University study in 2009 retorted that people identifying as "high caffeine users," drinking seven cups of coffee a day, were three times more likely than low-caffeine users (one cup a day) to hear voices or see things that aren't there. Researchers suggested that this could be because of caffeine's propensity to increase stress. The stress hormone cortisol (which increases blood pressure) is produced in greater amounts in a person consuming caffeine.

Thursday

Fact N°
2017

The St. Elmo's Fire phenomenon is essentially a naturally occurring fluorescent light.

Plasma, an ionized gas, is the most common form of matter in the universe (as stars are made of plasma), and it is also common in consumer products (neon signs, fluorescent lamps, plasma TVs). St. Elmo's Fire, the phenomenon named by sailors for the glow with which it surrounded the masts of ships, is essentially just the result of an object discharging electricity and ionizing the air around it.

Friday

Fact N°
2018

Five times as many students suffer from mental health issues as did during the Depression.

According to a Minnesota questionnaire which has been used since 1938, high school and college students are vastly more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety, and stress now than those of the same age during the Great Depression. Nearly a quarter of students reported having difficulty with rules and authority, and over three-quarters reported feeling significant pressure to be financially well-off.

Saturday

Fact N°
2024

Nunchucks were originally invented as a farm tool.

The origin of nunchucks is a matter of debate, though they are commonly thought to have originated on Okinawa Island (now part of Japan). Like other Okinawan weapons, they appear to have originated as a farm tool, either as part of a horse's bridle or a flail, a tool used to separate rice grains.

Sunday

Fact N°
2025

Bananas can cause false alarms on radiation sensors.

An IAEA study notes that various materials including "lantern mantles, fertilizer or bananas, contain... enough radioactive isotope to set off very sensitive detectors or to give a reading well above background." Though much of what you come across on a daily basis is technically radioactiveâ€”including granite, kitty litter, and other peopleâ€”bananas in particular are occasionally used as a unit of measurement for radioactivity, in the form of the Banana Equivalent Dose.

Sunday

Fact N°
2025

Bananas can cause false alarms on radiation sensors.

An IAEA study notes that various materials including "lantern mantles, fertilizer or bananas, contain... enough radioactive isotope to set off very sensitive detectors or to give a reading well above background." Though much of what you come across on a daily basis is technically radioactive -- including granite, kitty litter, and other people -- bananas in particular are occasionally used as a unit of measurement for radioactivity, in the form of the Banana Equivalent Dose.